Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

272. A Sudden Change

The message displayed in front of Solin this time wasn't the usual "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner," but rather "Congratulations on winning the BoB championship! Your prize will be distributed within three business days. Please ensure you can receive the package..." There was still one minute left before all players were eliminated, and he actually had one more thing to do.

"At least for now, your plan has completely failed. The so-called Dead Gun is nothing but a joke." He slowly walked over, looking down at Dead Gun lying on the ground with a mocking expression. "There's no point in wasting words with you now. Anyway, we'll see each other in reality in a little while."

“Maybe… Is there really any difference between you and us, guys who claim to be righteous but kill without blinking an eye?” Death Gun’s voice was still dry and inorganic. “You’re just waving the banner of justice to satisfy your bloodlust. There’s no real difference between you and us.”

"Really? To compare me to social scum like you... You really have guts. I'm trying to protect more people from harm, while you want to harm more people. That's the fundamental difference between us. I don't believe you don't understand that, and if your idea is to sway me... you're wasting your time."

Sorin was not swayed by Death Gun's claims. He had always firmly believed that he was wielding his blade against those with red names in order to protect more innocent people. After joining the Rainbow Squad, this belief became even more deeply rooted in his heart and never wavered.

He stood still, then waved his hand, and suddenly a small angel, about half the size of a palm, flew out from mid-air and hovered in front of him.

The little angel has always had the same appearance as in SAO in the virtual world, and she also has that childlike feeling of never growing up. Combined with her current size, she looks quite cute.

"Is everything resolved, Dad?" Ivy tilted her head to look at Solin, then at Dead Gun lying on the ground, and suddenly understood what Solin meant. "Wait a moment, scanning echo..."

"Wait a minute? Scan the echo? There's such a high-tech thing?" Solin looked at Ivyxin in surprise. He had originally just wanted to call Ivyxin out to scan his login address and then bring the Rainbow Squad to his door. But now, after hearing what Ivyxin said, he also began to wonder what this echo could actually see.

"Actually, it's just similar to Echo in TD... Ivy can see the scenes of him executing those people before, and see what information she can get." Ivy shook her head, then explained to Solin, "Time is limited now, but Ivy can stay here indefinitely. You can scan whatever you want, Dad."

"Then help me scan his landing location first. I'll go out now. There might be a battle plan later. If there's not enough time to copy Echo, don't force it."

After finishing his sentence, Solin clicked the button in front of him and exited the BoB finals venue. When he came out, the entire underground hall of the White House had been decorated to resemble an awards ceremony. Large groups of players were gathered there, watching the newly crowned champion.

"Don't tell me this is an awards ceremony, I don't have time for this... Sorry, I have something to do, I'll log off now." Solin looked at the crowd that suddenly became lively because of his appearance, as well as the microphones handed to him by several game media and well-known up, and logged off without thinking, leaving them all standing there.

His vision gradually darkened, then transformed into the normal world through a red filter. This was a normal occurrence when exiting full immersion mode, as the AmuSphere device's in-eye area was essentially a pair of red double-layered glasses. He saw Yuna standing fully armed before him, while Kirito was still wrapped in blankets like a well-behaved child, his eyes tightly closed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly, suggesting he wasn't sleeping soundly.

“I didn’t think it was appropriate for Kirigaya-kun to get involved in what’s coming next, so I put him to sleep. I hope that’s alright.” Yuna smiled as she helped Mo Yulan remove the AmuSphere, then looked at Kirito beside her and asked softly, “Kirigaya-kun, is he asleep?”

"Yeah, I'm asleep." After hearing Yuna's words, Kirito slowly turned over and murmured, "Really asleep..."

"Why do I suddenly have the illusion that this guy is also cute in the real world?" Mo Yulan turned her head and stared at Kirito for a while, then suddenly felt a little dangerous, so she quickly turned her head back, got out of bed and put on the [Raider's Battle Suit Top] that she had just thrown aside. Then she put on the strange device called Augma in front of her eyes, turned it on, and pulled Ivy and Doc's contact information to the most visible position.

“Now check the equipment, wait for Ivy's message, and then I'll contact Rainbow Squad. The operation can begin.” Mo Yulan calmly took out her Vector from the cabinet, put four spare drum magazines into her backpack, and finally holstered the Moroccan hand cannon on her waist before connecting to Doc's communication. “Hello? Mr. Gustav, I've completed my mission and am currently searching for Dead Gun's location. I expect to get his exact location within five minutes and then we can set off to capture them.”

"No, that's not the key issue... They've taken over a large internet cafe and are holding all the players there hostage. You come here now... no, I'll send you the coordinates. You stay nearby and be ready to fight us at any time. I remember you passed the cooperative combat simulation exercise before. Just follow what they taught you. With us controlling the overall situation, nothing too serious should happen..."

“Ah, dear Mr. Gustav, let’s not make so many ominous promises now, okay? Although I trust your abilities, what if things go wrong and we end up complaining to whoever we have to complain to…” Mo Yulan hurriedly replied, not even bothering to let Aivisin continue searching for their login location, and quickly called her out, “Avisin, there’s been an emergency. Come out and prepare for battle, or you can take over a thread over there if you’d like. Vector, pack your things and get ready to work!”

273. "It's time to take this step" (Part 1)

As for the specifics of that unfortunate internet cafe, let's leave that aside for now and switch our focus to Sinon, who just quit the game about two or three minutes ago.

She slowly opened her eyes, still feeling the slightly viscous nutrient solution all over her body. After detecting that the user had exited the fully submerged state, the nutrient solution was slowly drained, and Sinon herself, as the water level dropped, gently fell back onto the cold metal plate inside the facility.

Her hands trembled, still hesitant to open the hatch. She feared that when she opened it, she wouldn't find a smiling Ms. Rebecca, but a bandit who intended to harm her and had already broken in. Although Death Gun had stopped halfway through the cross-signing execution ritual, that didn't stop Sinon from suspecting they were still outside.

"Come out, child, I know what you're afraid of. Don't be afraid, it's all over now." Rebecca's familiar gentle voice rang out from outside the hatch. Shino shook her head, clearing the unnecessary worries from her mind, and then pressed the "Open" button inside the hatch.

The hatch slowly opened, and sure enough, Rebecca, with a smile on her face, came into Shino's view, not anyone else. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed that Rebecca's appearance seemed quite different from when she had seen her before. She was now wearing a light purple robe, holding a short staff with intricate patterns in her right hand, and her whole demeanor was much more mysterious than before. The bandage that had been covering her eyes was gone at some point, and her light purple eyes had somehow taken on a barely perceptible red hue.

“Ms. Rebecca, what is this…” Sinon pointed to the short cane Rebecca was holding in her hand with a puzzled look, but Rebecca just smiled and shook her head, then handed a towel to Sinon.

“Let’s talk about it later. I know you probably have a lot of questions right now, but anyway… you should clean yourself up and get dressed first.” Rebecca was still smiling as she watched Sinon take the towel, then take two steps outside and stand to the side, gazing wistfully out the window. Suddenly, she sighed, “That child seems to treat you quite well.”

“That child? You mean…” Sinon tilted her head in confusion. She could roughly guess who Rebecca was referring to, but she still didn’t quite understand why Rebecca would suddenly mention him. “Why do you ask that?”

"I was just suddenly curious, after all, he is... Oh right, you should wear this for now. Those guys blew up my door earlier, and I have to contact the property management later, it's such a headache..."

Rebecca handed a large bathrobe to Sinon, then subtly changed the subject, muttering to herself as if genuinely frustrated by the fact that her door had been blown up. Sinon, however, after putting on the bathrobe, wasn't distracted by this gesture.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Rebecca's light purple eyes, and suddenly realized the source of the illusion she had when she first met Rebecca that "she felt like she had seen this face somewhere before"... or rather, it wasn't an illusion at all.

“You and he look so alike, Ms. Rebecca.” After a moment’s thought, she decided to test the waters first. However, while she was testing the waters, Rebecca readily admitted it.

“He’s my son, so it’s normal for him to look like me.” Rebecca maintained her smile and then said something that made Sinon find it hard to believe, “Okay~ I know you have a lot of questions, let’s take it one step at a time. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, after all, I don’t have the right to keep the true nature of this world a secret.”

“Okay, Ms. Rebecca. I feel… you’re not just a psychologist or an astrologer, are you?” Sinon thought for a moment before asking the question.

“I belong to a race that once existed but is now almost completely extinct. It’s called the Isu, and some people also call us the Forerunners. Maybe you’ve heard of these two names somewhere, maybe not, it doesn’t matter.” Rebecca answered, she really had no intention of hiding anything, because she had actually seen everything long ago. “Currently, there are only two pure-blooded Isu left, one responsible for recording the past, and the other responsible for observing the future, and I am the one responsible for observing the future.”

(Yes, I'm the one responsible for recording the past, and you can probably guess that by now—author's note)

"Is that so...? Then you'll help me and tell me all this, is it because..."

Sinon vaguely sensed something, but she was unwilling to admit it. Rebecca, seeing this, simply shook her head and denied her guess.

"That's not the case. The main reason is simply because I'm interested. In every era, there is indeed a certain person who is the turning point in the entire historical development, but apart from the [scribe], no one knows exactly who that person is."

After hearing this, Shino had already deduced the general situation. While Dead Gun was knocking her down and intending to execute her, he contacted his accomplices outside. However, when his accomplices tried to break into Rebecca's villa, she cleared them out, which is why Dead Gun abandoned his plan to execute her.

"Thank you for protecting me, Ms. Rebecca. I am very grateful."

Sinon nodded to Rebecca, her eyes filled with gratitude. Rebecca gently shook her head, then looked directly into Sinon's eyes again and continued.

"I'll tell you my story another time. I think you should be feeling a little better after everything you've been through, right? Why don't you give it a try?"

Sinon immediately understood Rebecca's meaning. Coincidentally, she also wanted to test whether she could face those cold, hard weapons in the real world. She nodded, then watched Rebecca go upstairs, and after a while, return to the room carrying a not-so-large box.

"If you really think you can do it, go ahead and open it. It's time to take that step."

Rebecca placed the box on the table to the side, then looked at Sinon and pointed at it. Sinon hesitated for a moment before walking over to the box, then, as if she had made a great decision, she pressed the buttons on both sides of the handle forcefully, lifting the lid off completely.

274. "It's time to take this step" (Part 2)

In every sense, the object lying quietly in the box is a masterpiece of art, and some even call it the most classic of Remington's countless products.

This was the first thought that crossed Shino's mind upon seeing the rifle. She was immediately surprised by her own reaction—she didn't feel any nausea or other adverse reaction upon seeing it; instead, she felt a sense of warmth and familiarity, as if she were seeing a long-time companion.

Shino raised her right hand and gently stroked the cold barrel of the gun. She knew perfectly well that this was not one of those model guns she had collected before, but a real one that could be pulled and bring death.

“R700? It really is a classic model.” She looked up, her tone incredibly calm, without the intense reaction she had when she tried to touch the model FN-57 earlier. “To be precise, the standard 700P? This should be the equipment of the United States Police Department… Well, it’s not surprising that someone like you could get your hands on something like this.”

“This was a gift from an old friend. I don’t know why she thought I needed it, and in fact, I didn’t. It’s just been lying dormant in my showroom for a long time.” Rebecca’s tone suddenly became very gratified, probably because she was pleased with the change in the girl’s heart. “I think you should understand now. Some people fight so that more people don’t have to fight.”

“And some harm is done to prevent harm from others. Thank you, Ms. Rebecca.” Sinon smiled, gently lowering her hands to close the box, but Rebecca’s right hand, which had appeared out of nowhere, stopped her. “…What is it? Is there anything else?”

"Consider this a personal request from me. The conflict tonight is not over yet. At least after you resolved the issues in the virtual world, there are still people active in this cold reality. They are also fighting, and their battles are even more dangerous than the ones you just experienced."

Rebecca stared intently into Sinon's eyes, her tone suddenly turning serious, and the smile that had been on her face vanished.

"There are still people fighting... Is it Sorin?" Sinon murmured thoughtfully, then raised her head firmly. "What do I need to do?"

"It's just that I suddenly saw something. The things that need to be done are simple, but I'm afraid you won't be able to get over this hurdle. Your mindset has just started to improve, so..."

Rebecca shook her head, seemingly also feeling something was amiss. However, Sinon's idea was even more resolute... or rather, stubborn, than Rebecca had imagined.

"Please tell me what happened and what you need me to do." As she spoke, she took the R700 out of the box, skillfully picked up a magazine, loaded it, and pulled the bolt hard. "But from what you've said, I roughly understand the situation. Do you have his contact information?"

“131 [DATA EXPUNGED] 5676, that’s his phone number. If you’re really prepared for this, I won’t stop you.” Rebecca sighed helplessly, then handed Sinon a light yellow scope from under the box. “You should know what this is. You’ll find you need it when you get there. That’s all. Remember to protect yourself.”

“I will. Even if this isn’t the game world I’m familiar with, some things remain unchanged.” Sinon suddenly smiled, and without saying anything more, she turned and left the room, heading towards the villa’s gate… if the gate still existed.

“Don’t worry about me, Ms. Rebecca. He stood up to protect others from the robbers, and I’m just making a similar choice. As you said, ‘It’s time to take this step.’”

------

"It's unbelievable. I never imagined that after the complete demise of the White Mask, someone would still know how to make such a thing."

Grace looked away from the scope and handed a pair of binoculars to Gustav, who was standing beside her. Gustav took the binoculars and glanced inside, his expression equally unfriendly. In his view, the internet cafe, which had previously been filled with people playing games, was now filled with men in black wearing gas masks and wielding various firearms. To make matters worse, a thick cloud of yellow smoke hung in the vicinity of the internet cafe; although he didn't know what it was, it gave off an unsettling feeling.

The scene had been cordoned off by additional personnel temporarily deployed by the Metropolitan Police Department, but those guys showed no intention of breaking through and seemed to want to hold their ground inside.

"It reminds me of that nightmarish incident in 2007. Only they seem even more suspicious this time," Gustav replied in a deep voice, then looked at the other four people standing behind him. "At least I don't quite understand why they'd get so many guns in 2024. Did the Japanese security checks get kicked in the head by Uncle John's boot?"

“More than that, I think it’s your Frenchman criticizing them in an English way that’s most laughable.” Xiao Meiling pushed up her glasses and glanced around. “Besides, do you really think we needed to send that recruit over in this situation?”

“That recruit is more capable than you think; after all, he’s Mox’s son,” Jack replied, putting on his gas mask and looking at Gustav with a questioning gaze. “So, should I go and negotiate with them?”

"I think even if you go to negotiate, you'll just come back and tell us the negotiations have broken down and we need to prepare for a tough battle," Gustav replied irritably, then answered his phone, which suddenly lit up. "Hello? Where are you now?"

"You only told me that [the other side took hostages in an internet cafe], but you never told me that they also planted something like this? Is this a repeat of Article 5? Luckily, I was prepared." Mo Yulan's somewhat impatient voice came from the other end of the phone. "I'm on the other side of the street, ready to raid if needed, but I think you'll have to wait for the outcome of the negotiations or something."

"The Metropolitan Police Department is handling the negotiations; all we need to do is storm in when they break down. For now, we can only be thankful that the terrain here is much simpler than Bartlett Academy…wait, what's that?"

275. Preliminary Preparations by Both Parties

"Wait, do we really need to do this?"

"Mirror" stood in a corner of the internet cafe lobby, his gaze filled with obvious fear as he looked around. He and his companions had come straight here after escaping from Rebecca's villa, and his accomplices seemed to have already completed all the preliminary operations.

"I really don't know why you got involved in this mess. Your brother must have tricked you into it. Once you decided to participate in the [Death Gun] project, things just couldn't stop. This isn't child's play. I thought you at least had some mental preparation or something."

The man turned around, grabbed "Mirror's" shoulder hard, and shouted at it. After being scolded like that, "Mirror" didn't change much; it just trembled more noticeably.

"Forget it, I couldn't count on you anyway. Just find a place to hide, as long as you don't go into the innermost room." He shook his head helplessly, then pushed "Mirror" hard, and took out the walkie-talkie hanging on his chest. "Changyi, we've arrived. Find someone to take your brother away or something. He's just getting in the way here."

"If he wants something, he has to take some of the risks himself. It's that simple. They want to interfere with my plans, but they don't realize that my main plan isn't even in that game. It's ridiculous... utterly ridiculous."

All he heard on the other end of the walkie-talkie was a sarcastic, unintelligible voice, which annoyed him greatly. So he simply hung up the call, put the walkie-talkie back in front of his chest, and looked at the crowd standing inside.

"Hurry up and reinforce the wall! We don't have much time left, so let's move quickly!"

------

Through the thick smoke, Gustav suddenly saw what appeared to be a flashing red light deep inside the internet cafe. Although he didn't know what it was, he had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

A strong sense of unease lingered in his heart, refusing to dissipate. He sighed, then continued speaking into the phone.

"Don't be reckless. I feel there might be something wrong in there. Let's use the drone to explore first."

"I understand. And is this drone really $100,000 a unit? Can I apply for one?" Mo Yulan asked curiously on the other end of the line. He had just put on his gas mask and was about to put another one on You Na. As for Ai Weixin and Vector... they didn't need such an unnecessary item.

They were now standing a street away. The surrounding population had been evacuated, and only SAT rapid response forces remained. These men were initially wary of Mo Yulan and his group, who were heavily armed, but their attitude changed noticeably after he presented his identification from Rainbow Six.

“According to Doc, there seems to be something strange going on here, but his description is too vague for me to know the specifics.” He turned to Ivy and Vector, then asked, “Vector, do you have any restrictions on resurrection or anything like that?”

“No, I can’t just go out and deliver things like your little angel. There’s nowhere in this world that can build my mecha right now. Besides… the little angel’s mecha is actually very expensive, so if possible, it’s best to be cautious.” Vector’s expression suddenly turned strange when he heard Mo Yulan’s question. “In short, I can’t be like Ivy, but when it comes to crucial moments… I won’t be stingy with this mecha, you can rest assured about that.”

"Come on, if I really messed you up, your master would probably come after me right then and there." Mo Yulan shrugged, then looked inside the internet cafe through a thermal imaging scope. "...Where's that red light? There's just a bunch of people inside... Oh damn, they're reinforcing the nearby walls. Aiweixin, do you have any more thermal explosives?"

"There are still two volumes left. Hopefully, we won't need to destroy too many walls. And Ivy didn't see anything particularly strange either. Maybe Uncle Doc's side is mistaken?"